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Cassette 4: Bardo Museum (1975)/Transcript
This is the official transcript for the episode which can also be accessed for free at'' patreon.com/withinthewires. Minor edits have been made for accuracy, these are listed at the bottom of the page.'' AMA:Indications for who was speaking (both Ama and Roimata) were omitted Welcome to the International Bardo Museum of Tunis. I am Ama Cudjoe, Director of Curations. We are proud to present this audio cassette guide of Unfinished Nightmares: the new sketches of Claudia Atieno. These drawings were discovered two years ago by police in a previously unknown crawlspace below Atieno's Cornwall home. This audio guide will be narrated by historian and expert in Atieno's oeuvre, Roimata Mangakahia. While Atieno’s whereabouts remain a mystery, these sketches give eerie insight into her last creative thoughts before her disappearance. This special exhibit is located on Level Two. Works with audio guidance are numbered and begin on your left, moving counter-clockwise around the room. Each narration will be followed by a tone, so that you may pause the cassette between pieces. Please return the cassette player, headphones, and shoulder strap to the Members Services Desk on the ground floor. #TONE# ROIMATA: Sketch 1: "untitled figure with hat"No line break was given here This drawing is of the Society’s Secretary of Trade Vishwathi Ramadoss, wearing a wide-brimmed fedora. You can see a wry smile on Ramadoss's face, likely in reference to the brown, Western hat juxtaposed against her soft blue sari. The staff of the Bardo disagreed with my identification of Ramadoss - rather, they do not believe the figure is meant to be anyone in particular, but I know her face well. Ramadoss was a frequent visitor to Atieno's Cornwall home, as well as her Mwanza apartment. I knew Ramadoss, and while I was not close with her, I know she greatly respected Atieno's artistic talents. Ramadoss also greatly resented Atieno’s constant critique of the Societal Councill, her frequent jibes about Ramadoss’ capitulation to bureaucratic strictures. Ramadoss, like most of Atieno's invited guests, was an avid art collector and ardent fan of Atieno's work. Ramadoss has a techically perfect smile, one that is vibrant and beautiful regardless of her intentions. Look at her smile in this sketch. What are Ramadoss’s intentions? What are your intentions? One of Atieno's most notorious paintings, Ferngulch, Madurai(currently part of Manhattan’s Museum of Modern Art's permanent collection), featured a verdant ravine covered in ferns. In the center of the gully, a single camera held by two seemingly disembodied hands, literally suggesting a nature photographer, but figuratively critical of the Council's Surveillance Scandal of 1958, where staff members, under the oversight of the Trade Commission, kept secret and extensive records of international merchants, including artists such as Atieno. Placing the subject of the painting in Ramadoss’s birthplace of Madurai was a particularly harsh jab at a powerful and (it has been rumoured) vindictive woman. The surveillance records were unearthed by 4 journalists from Vancouver, but they could not prove Ramadoss directly authorized the surveillance of these merchants. Ramadoss was publicly censured for this direct violation of the Citizen Espionage Act of 1951, but never faced a tribunal for these crimes. In "untitled figure with hat" Atieno did not detail much of Ramadoss's surroundings, just her face, smile, hat, and shaded eyes. But notice the pencil strokes in the upper left, suggesting the flat horizon of the ocean. I believe this was drawn on the patio of Atieno's Cornwall home, overlooking the sea. Ramadoss's contagious charms are made vivid in this drawing, and were likely her salvation in the Congressional hearings on her scandal. Ramadoss was friendly with Atieno for the most part, and they had lively conversations about everything except politics, but in the time I spent with Ramadoss in Cornwall, I sensed she was always planning every word, every gesture. She was carefully choreographed. Her intentions were complex and hidden. #TONE# Sketch 2: "untitled automobile with driver" Scholars at the Royal Cornwall Museum noted that it was a 1950 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith, a vehicle which was owned by late president of the Bank of Western Europe Archie MacPherson. In the sketch, however, the man standing next to the vehicle is not Archie, who was a large man, broad shouldered and tall, with a round belly and young face. The man in this sketch is small, barely taller than the vehicle itself. He is wearing thick-rimmed eyeglasses, and wearing an unbuttoned suit. Look carefully inside his jacket. There appears to be a pistol on a shoulder holster, although this is a small debate among critics. Notice the shape, the handle of the supposed gun is longer than seems ordinary for a pistol. How long is a pistol? This man also does not bear any of the uniform elements common to the International Police, who are the only people legally allowed to carry firearms. So either it is not a pistol - perhaps an unfinished umbrella or poorly drawn drivers' gloves - or this unknown man is a private guard cum driver for a wealthy, non-political individual, such as MacPherson. Look in the windows of the car. Do you see the outline of a heavyset banker? What does wealth look like? Hiring armed private guards would also be a criminal offense, but one which money or influence could help alleviate. MacPherson owned a large collection of private works by Atieno, Pavel Zubov, and Cassandra Reza. He underwrote an exhibit of Atieno’s work at the Tate Modern in 1971. He was one of Claudia’s supporters in her critique of the new Society. MacPherson believed Ramadoss and other high-ranking members of the Society were covertly constructing an Institute in the former United States to imprison violators the Family Dissolution Act of 1955. He claimed the Institute kidnapped and tortured adults who sought to reconnect with their birth families. Archie and Claudia did not just enjoy sharing conspiracy theories, they actively believed them. MacPherson was found dead outside his home last year. The official statement claimed he died of a heart attack, and this is not an appropriate forum for speculating about the honesty of official statements. Look again in the windows of the car in the sketch. Who else was in the vehicle? Do you see yourself inside the car? ##### Sketch 3: "untitled waves" Atieno has drawn a cross-section of waves crashing upon a rocky shore. Look closely along the top of the water. She has masterfully depicted the turbulent force of sand and seaweed caught in an undertow, using only a pencil. She has colored darkly the sky, ostensibly just bad weather, but also symbolizing the nightmare of being dragged out alone into the ocean. The markings are boldest near the rocks. Look at the rocks and follow the the lines out into the sea. See how the pressure of the pencil lightens significantly. The charcoal sky dissipates not into light but nothingness, the fear of the void, of loneliness. The cliffs off the Cornwall home were always my favorite scene to sketch. Sitting on Claudia's patio deck, overlooking the cliffs, I would often practice shading gradients. Claudia asked me once why I drew this scene so often. I explained to her it was a relaxing way to pass the time, particularly when I needed to keep busy but lacked motivation to create new work. It wasn't long after that before her sketchpad was filled with drawings of the same scene. You can see here in "untitled waves" that even with pencils, Atieno was masterful. I hated her for that. I hated that about her. Look again at her gradients. Don’t they make you mad? Think about everything you are incapable of achieving. #TONE# Sketch 4: "untitled dinner party" Dinner parties were common at the Cornwall house, with visiting artists and dignitaries. I say “dinner parties” but due in part to the remoteness of the house, and in part to the untamed nature of parties, they ran through the night and into the next day, when people could more safely make their way back to land. On occasion, the parties bled through to the next day and further. Atieno was well-known for her social events, and many of these were wild engagements with drinks, music, dancing, and gregarious, unpredictable personalities, who sang or told stories. Or in the case of several dancer friends, stripped naked and performed improvised routines on tables. In this drawing, though, the party seems subdued. Look at how the well-dressed figures gingerly hold their glasses of wine, standing stiffly about cocktail tables, with little sign of the debauchery I associate with Atieno's get-togethers. It is difficult here to discern specific identities, but it is likely that these are representatives from the Council. I believe Atieno was attempting to capture the Council’s trepidation about what they had interpreted as political art. I am not so sure of this interpretation, especially given the source - if you are looking for dissidence you are likely to see it, whether or not it’s really there. She welcomed friends and enemies alike, and in the case of the World Council, and the architects of the new Society, she would have happily invited any of her well-appointed detractors into her home, as long as they told good stories and didn’t ruin the fun. The Council was happy to attend the parties, as long as they could mentally note who was there and what they said. Atieno's home country of Tanzania was dissipated during the creation of the Society in 1939. The founders of the Society removed national borders in favor of the Nine United Regions. While this gave way to an Eastern Africa independent of English imperialist rule, it stole away the agency of the smaller Tanzanian officials fighting for their own governance. The subcapital of Dodoma now reports to the Regional Seat in Nairobi. Europeans no longer govern the former Tanzania, but the open trade enabled astronomic growth in several regions of Africa, and the European population grew there in the two decades following the war. Atieno felt disconnected from her homeland and her family in Mwanza, as well as with the dilution of the Ibo population by the English-speaking Europeans. Still, as a globe-traveling artist, many of her childhood friends disassociated from Atieno, feeling she had abandoned her home. Perhaps she had. It would not be the only time she abandoned a home. In "untitled dinner party," we likely see a room full of politicians watching and recording Atieno subtly, as Atieno subtly watched and recorded them in return, in her own way. Look at the revellers in the sketch. Is “revellers” an appropriate word to use? Which of these people do you think last saw Claudia? #TONE# Sketch 5: "untitled artists at work" This meta sketch of a sketch is quite indicative of the occasions when guests would work together to develop new work. Someone would paint - as you see here in this sketch: a painting on an easel, three artists gathered around discussing the work. I used to believe that one of the figures was Claudia herself, as the painting on the easel - the art within the art - appears to be her work Sunshine Afternoon. But Sunshine Afternoon was painted in 1968. This sketch, while not dated, is likely from the early 1960s if not late 1950s. This painting is someone else's entirely. It was not uncommon for artists who worked together to share ideas & paint similar concepts. But an oft-had discussion with other artists in Atieno's circle was when did inspiration become theft? I have no proof that another artist originally created Sunshine Afternoon. In fact, Claudia might have created it first in this sketch, only to realize it fully in oils years later. But one of the artists in this work - so you see the woman with the long, dark hair? - I am certain is Vanessa Nguyen. The more I think about her signature rays of light, I think that Sunshine Afternoon was certainly her original idea. Or at least, I have my suspicions. Look at the sketch in the sketch. Do you recognize that as an early study of Sunshine Afternoon? Does this serve as proof? Of anything? Are all affirmatives true until they are successfully debunked? #TONE# Sketch 6: "untitled rope and parrot" This, of all of the newly-discovered sketches, disturbed me the most. As a sketch it is simple and beautiful. It is the least suggestive of sinister guests. As you can see, it is just a square knot lying atop a wooden table. Next to the rope is a bird. The curators at the Bardo have called this bird a parrot, but it is specifically a kea. Note is long, narrow beak. I argued with the curatorial staff about this, and they noted that it was more likely an African gray parrot, a bird Atieno would have seen in her travels, as opposed to a Kea, native to New Zealand - a place she had never been. I know this bird to be a Kea, though, even though Atieno would never have seen one in person. First, the bird is missing the patterns of the gray parrot, but there is a more significant reason for my certainty. Second, I had an identical painting. A kea on a table, next to a knotted rope. It was one of my earlier attempts to capture wildlife stills. I was fortunate enough to have a friend who worked in nature conservation on the South Island - specifically in maintaining the health of native birds. She had taken in an injured kea. She had nursed it back to health, but it could no longer fly. I remember clearly the bird had a small plaster wrap, almost like a cast, at the base of one of its wings. My friend allowed me to paint the immobilized bird, and it was a good subject, as it held perfectly still. Notice in Atieno’s sketch the shoulder area on the bird’s left side. Do you see where the pencils are absent in a horizontal swath? Is that an unfinished section, or merely Atieno playing with light and shadow. Or is it a plaster band? I brought the painting with me to London early in my career, hoping to get a showing in a gallery. At the time I thought it captured a unique perspective and approach to still lifes, but over time I began to feel the painting was not satisfactorily executed, so I left it with other early studies and incomplete paintings in a trunk in my closet. Atieno rarely came to see me in my small flat in Plymouth, because it was so far from her home. For all of her love of world travels, she detested long commutes to others' homes. Plus, as I said it was a small flat. But a few weeks after her last visit to my flat in 1970, I noticed that my trunk was open, and a handful of my paintings and drawings were missing. Since I did not check the trunk regularly, I thought it had perhaps broken open in transit, and I had just never noticed. But upon seeing these sketches this year, I recognized this sketch of the bird and the rope, and I suspect Atieno had found my old painting. She not only stole the picture, but bettered it. Even without the richness of color and the depth of oil on canvas, Atieno captures shadows and light so well, even the kea, without the motion blur of a realistic photograph, Atieno, using only a pencil, shows the bird's lack of attention span, its nervous energy sitting next to a human. even the chips and dents along the table's edge, where the bird had bit away the wood. I don't recall ever including that detail in my original painting. What is most maddening about Atieno is her talent. Even in plagiarism, she makes it perfectly her own. #TONE# This concludes your audio tour of Unfinished Nightmares: the new sketches of Claudia Atieno. Before you turn in your cassette player to the Members desk, I would like to say a word about Claudia’s absence. She may never return to us, but I believe she is not dead. Just as she left her home in Mwanza, she left her home in Cornwall. Perhaps she will continue to make art, and we will find her once again. Her former partner Pavel Zubov told the staff at the Bardo Musuem that he found the sketches for this exhibit in a crawlspace in Claudia’s home. I’m not certain what he was doing in her home recently, but I’m wary of the idea that he simply found these in a place no one had ever looked. I admit to looking thoroughly through her home when she wasn’t there. I never saw these. I am hoping his claims are false, and that Claudia gave them to him to put in the Bardo. It’s possible she simply doesn’t want it known she’s still somewhere in the world making art. I expect more exhibits of newly-discovered works by Claudia Atieno. I hope, anyway. Errors Category:Transcripts